Nesting boxes and houses for birds have previously been provided in the act. Such boxes have taken forms, most being of the square or rectangular box type. However, Moore in U.S. Pat. No. 1,987,347 disclosed the use of a metallic cylinder having a removable friction disc or plug member engageable with an open end of the cylinder, the member having an aperture formable centrally therein to provide an entrance opening for birds nesting in the cylindrical enclosure. These prior bird boxes, including the Moore structure, could be fabricated only with some expenditure of money and time in obtaining the necessary materials and forming said materials into the required shapes for assembly into a desired structure. Even when commonly available materials, such as milk cartons and the like, are cleverly converted into nesting houses, a substantial amount of time and talent is required to properly form such an enclosure into a desired conformation. Further, additional materials must always be procured to form necessary structural features, such as a perch, of an acceptable nesting box. Further, cutting implements such as scissors, knives, saws, or the like must usually be used to accomplish the fabrication techniques employed to produce the nesting boxes envisioned by the prior art. The fabrication of these prior act nesting boxes have thus required some degree of skill, the use of the tools or implements necessary to manufacture such boxes being typically unsafe for utilization by children. The cost in time and money of these prior bird boxes have also tended to limit the number of such boxes which bird-loving individuals and families could manage to build for deployment in yards and woodlands.
The present invention provides a bird nesting box which can be fabricated at minimal cost both in terms of financial and temporal expenditure, the present box being formed according to the presently disclosed method from a disposable storage container such as is commonly used in the marketing of food stuffs and other products. The use of the disposable storage container as a bird box provides a further societal benefit in that the container is put to a desirable purpose rather than being discarded and thus aggravating the already overwhelming community solid waste disposal problem. The disclosure made herein includes an article of manufacture useable in the manner of a disposable storage container for packaging of a product which is to be sold such as from a display shelf in a food store. The present article of manufacture particularly finds utility in the packaging of powder or granular materials which are mixed with a liquid such as water to form a beverage. Presently available metal or composite containers of this type are typically cylindrical and have a measuring cup provided in the container for convenient preparation of the foodstuff. Such containers further have plastic snap-on covers which, on removal of an inner metal or composite sealing wall, serve as a replaceable lid to prevent spillage and spoilage of the food stuff. According to the present invention, the container, the cover, and the measuring cup are provided with pre-stressed, typically circular portions which can be "punched out" to provide aperture or openings of a predetermined size, the openings thus formed the container being typically of a diameter sufficient to provide ventilation. A central opening is thereby formed in the cover to receive cylindrical cup portion of the measuring cup therein, the cup being locked in the opening by means of spaced snap flanges on screw threads formed on the external surface of the cup. The bottom of the measuring cup is "punched out" to provide an entrance opening for a bird into the interior of the container. Further, the handle of the measuring cup can be bent to provide a perch.
The bird nesting box formed according to the invention provides the advantages and features typically desired of a nest housing, that is, the present box can be installed in trees, on posts, and even on the walls of sheds, barns, or other structures. Further, the present nesting box provides protection against predators as well as against the elements. Due to the exceptionally low cost of the present bird box and the ease of fabrication thereof especially when an otherwise disposable storage container is configured for conversion to said bird box as aforesaid, great numbers of the box can be economically fabricated and installed for the benefit of the birds and for the enjoyment and recreational benefit of those who fabricate the boxes. Children can especially benefit from the invention due to the ease of fabrication of the present bird box, dangerous tools and cutting implements not being necessary for conversion of the storage container to the finished bird box. The present bird box can be fabricated largely by hand, a simple hand punch which can take the form of a pencil or dowel rod being typically useable to form the ventilation holes in the container. The present bird box can therefore be economically and safely fabricated by children as well as by adults, the box being either built from a container which is predisposed to conversion or from a container such as was available before the invention disclosed herein.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a nesting box and a method of manufacturers thereof for use by birds which is inexpensive to fabricate and which can be fabricated from otherwise disposable storage containers such as are used to package "instant" beverages and the like.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an otherwise disposable storage container for packaging food stuffs such as "instant" beverages and the like which is preformed for ready conversion into a bird nesting box at minimal cost and without the need for skillful use of tools or cutting implements, the conversion being readily accomplished by children or individuals who are not mechanically inclined.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention.